bahia-asuncion
 81°F |
By Shari Bondy
In central Baja, most of the villages rely on the fisheries of lobster, abalone, conch, and some fin fin. Presently, it is abalone season. My husband fishes for abalone here in Bahia Asuncion, so we have been busy making abalone sausage and abalone burgers, which are my favorite.
Here is a video explaining how the cooperatives fish for them:
By Shari Bondy
March is gray whale month here in central Baja as the mothers and calves in the lagoons prepare to head north to join the rest of the gray whales who are already migrating. The Baja peninsula benefits from the economic boost that whale watching provides as thousands of tourists visit the lagoons each year.
Laguna Ojo de Liebre, also known as Scammon’s Lagoon, received an unusual visitor this past week – Charles “Chris” Scammon, descendant of Captain Charles Melville Scammon, the infamous nineteenth century whaler for whom the lagoon is named. It was Chris Scammon’s first trip to the breeding and calving grounds where the California gray whale was once hunted to the brink of extinction. Due to major protection efforts, the grays made a remarkable comeback, and now some of them, known as “friendlies,” actively seek out human interaction. The official count this year, from the census taken in early March, is 2,712 gray whales in Ojo de Liebre – a world record for a single area.
Scammon, 67, had never before traveled to the lagoon that bears his name. “It’s been a 40-year quest,” he said in a recent interview, “I grew up hearing about my famous ancestor. My mother always wanted to come here, but she never made it. Finally I did.” When asked if he was nervous about “meeting” the whales, he replied, “I’m excited to be here. I don’t know if they will sense who I am or not, but I am ready to see what happens.”
He was not alone in his pilgrimage to the lagoon. In addition to his wife, Janet, and son, Alex, Chris was part of a unique traveling school that teaches high school students how to make inspiring documentary films. He hound that the Good Traveling Semester Program, based in Scammon’s hometown of Nevada City, CA, travels to Baja California every winter to study, learn, and film. Directors Debra and Tom Weistar first invited the Scammons to accompany them about four years ago. “We’ve been bringing students to Ojo de Liebre since 1994. When we learned of Chris’ family connection, we saw the opportunity to tell a compelling story.”
The whales did not disappoint. “This has been a fantastic trip,” Chris told us, “on my first trip out in the boat, a mother and calf played around the panga for quite some time. They seemed to let everyone in the boat touch them except me. I was a little disappointed at first, and wondered if it was a coincidence or not. But then the mother let me touch her, and it was wonderful.”
When asked if he would come back, Chris Scammon replied, “I will definitely come back.”
It was an honor for me to be a part of this project and guide Chris, his family and the school group. It was a very emotional few days at the lagoon and peace was made, forgiveness granted, and a new relationship forged between whales and the Scammon family.
The Good Traveling Semester Program students and staff return to Nevada City, CA at the end of the month where they will begin post-production work on Soul Migration, their new documentary. For more information on the film and the semester program, visit here.
To see more information about Shari and her work in Bahia Asuncion, visit her personal blog here.
By Shari Bondy
On March 5th, the gray whale census revealed a record number of gray whale calves. Usually the peak numbers of whales is in mid February so it was a surprise to all that the numbers increased and there were more whales than ever before in recorded history in the calving lagoon near Guerrero Negro. The last highest count was in 1997, with 970 calves born.
Mom and baby meet another mom and baby!
There were 1,523 adult whales and a world record of 1,198 calves for a total of 2,721 whales in the lagoon! The other lagoons report normal numbers of whales.
The whale watching has been superb, with most pangas reporting “friendly” whale behavior—meaning that the whales seek out caresses from people. It was an excellent season for all the whale lagoons, which helps the economy of central Baja.
I am fortunate to guide whale trips to this lagoon and this year on my birthday, it was a special treat to have my daughter (who was conceived in the lagoon) and my grandson along.
The bird watching in the lagoon is another world class activity with so many species of shore birds, geese, ducks, and some rare species like stilts, peregrine falcons, and white pelicans, just to name just a few. There were dozens of huge osprey nests all along the canals and we got to see several newborn chicks in the nests.
It is the best place in the world for whale watching, so absolutely plan to put this on your list of things to do in Baja.
By Shari Bondy
Central Baja may not be a tropical tourist haven, but it has a vast and diverse collection of ecological and historical attractions to keep visitors busy. It is the least populated area of the peninsula and the driest. Incredible cactus forests, blooming wild desert flowers, and pristine long sandy beaches delight adventure seekers of all ages. The missions of San Borja and San Ignacio are stunning examples of architecture in beautiful settings.
One of the unique and endangered Pronghorn antelope population
The area is rich in natural wonders like the gray whale calving lagoons of San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre, close to Guerrero Negro which is where more than half the gray whale babies are born. The lagoons have been protected since 1971 when they were declared a protected gray whale refuge, the first of its kind. There are several islands to explore on local pangas where you can visit sea lion rookeries and seabird nesting sites.
The area is in the heart of the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve established in 1988, the largest reserve in all of Latin America covering over a million acres. It is a sanctuary for several endangered species like the big horned sheep, Pronghorn antelope, elephant seals, sea lions, whales, four endangered species of sea turtles, falcons, osprey, and over 200 species of aquatic and migratory birds.
The Reserve, in cooperation with the Ford Motor company and other U.S.A. zoological organizations like the San Diego Zoo’s Wildlife Conservancy, operates a world class rearing program to preserve and increase the Pronghorn Antelope population, one of the most endangered large mammals in Mexico. The goal is to operate captive and semi-captive breeding programs to reintroduce animals into the wild as well as develop husbandry and veterinary programs to train Mexican wildlife personnel. There is a strong environmental community education element in hopes of developing local habitat protection. The program has been a resounding success and many animals have now been released into the wild. You can visit the project via tours arranged from Guerrero Negro.
By Shari Bondy
Happy 2012 from Central Baja, where the weather has been fantastic so far. Things got off to a great start for the sport fishers in our area. There are large schools of big yellowtail very close to Bahia Asuncion yielding fish over 40 pounds. The surfers are stoked with the big swells, the snow birds are enjoying shorts and T-shirt weather, and the sea lions at Asuncion Island are having a great time swimming with the tourists.
A gray whale approaches a panga in Laguna Ojo de Liebre near Guerrero Negro
This is my favorite time of year, as I am guiding whale-watching trips to the gray whale calving lagoon along the Pacific coast. I have been doing photo identification of gray whales for more than 20 years. For the next two months, I will enjoy leading eco tours, sharing my expertise with visitors, and hanging out with the whales I’ve come to know over the years.
The northernmost lagoon near Guerrero Negro is known as Ojo de Liebre or Scammon’s Lagoon. (The other two are Laguna San Ignacio and Bahia Magdalena.) The lagoon starts to fill up the last few days of December with mostly females who are about to give birth. Sometimes they are accompanied by a midwife. The males frolic out in the ocean along the Baja coastline after they mate and may even venture around Land’s End and up into the Gulf of California before they turn around and head back north to the summer feeding grounds.
The calving lagoons are perfect places to give birth, as they have shallow warm water canals and are well protected, giving the babies a better chance at survival. The newborns are the size of a small car weighing around 1,000 pounds. They are pinkish when they are born and quickly turn gray when their skin is exposed to water.
I visited the lagoon in early January this year and have never seen so many whales present so early in the year and so many newborn calves, which indicates it will be an excellent season.
Each week has a unique whale-viewing aspect. The first couple weeks of the year are great for seeing huge pregnant females, mating, births, and newborns. By the end of January, the calves are gaining a hundred pounds a day and learning new skills like spy-hopping and breaching. There is also exciting mating behavior with several animals thrashing and rolling about and lifting their tails.
In February, the calves need to acquire muscle tone for their long migration north, so the mothers swim them against the tide in a parade-like procession. They pause to nurse and rest at slack tide, then turn around and swim back to the inner lagoon against the tide again. Some calves become interested in the pangas and try to swim over to them. The mothers are very protective but also bring their babies over to the pangas to teach them about boats, motors, and the dangers of propellers. Many whales hang out around the stern of the pangas by the motors and the lanchero. The whales know who is driving what boat, and they make friends with them and visit and play with them.
Many whales that have birthed in the lagoon previously trust the lancheros, so they approach the pangas sometimes soliciting pats and rubs from the passengers. These friendly whales pass on this behavior to their calves, so there are now multiple generations of whales who enjoy contact with humans.
In March, the calves are big and boisterous and can be mischievous as they try to escape from their mother to play with the pangas. There is more friendly behavior as they get ready to leave the lagoon on their long journey north.
It’s not too late to book a trip to catch the whales before they go. You can search the Baja.com activity directory for trip operators or contact me here for more info.
Bahia Asuncion Amiga: Shari Bondy
The weather is cooling down now…gosh sometimes it even gets down to the high 50’s…that’s when the locals bundle up in hats, gloves and coats and all complain about the FRIO! But, the visiting snowbirds still sport shorts and flip flops on the days in the high 60’s and mid 70’s and enjoying the sunshine.
Flowers on display in Bahia Asuncion
Growing up in a snow belt sure makes me appreciate the all round mild climate here in Central Baja. I love it that I can go to the beach pretty much any day and the ocean is warm enough to swim in.
Baja has an incredible amount of sunshine…even in December. The winter storms coming down from the north mostly peter out before they get this far or bring a bit of cloud, wind and hopefully some rain to nourish the plants…so the pithaya fruits are plentiful and the area will explode with flowers in the coming weeks.
It never ceases to amaze me how flowers bloom in December…my garden is full of plants in bloom which is such a delight to look at when we are relaxing in the sunshine on the patio. Here are some of my garden’s December blooms.
The December holiday season is a real family affair with big Christmas dinner gatherings as well as lots of weddings and posadas. Family and friends come from far and wide to be together. The food is plentiful and mood is festive…and a far cry from all the hustle & bustle north of the border.
All of us here in Central Baja wish you a very happy holiday season!
Hola everyone and welcome to the Bahia Asuncion blog. My name is Shari and I am a Mexi-Canadian living here in beautiful Asuncion. I have had the good fortune to live in this area of central Baja for over 20 years and absolutely am in love with this part of the peninsula.
Before moving full time to Asuncion, I lived in Guerrero Negro where I taught English at the University there (UABCS) and also guided whale trips in Laguna Ojo de Liebre. As much as I loved my job, the lure of living in a paradise like Asuncion was just too strong and I moved here when I married my husband Juan, who is from San Roque, a tiny fishing village a few minutes north of Asuncion.
When I first moved here, I was so absolutely amazed at the pristine beauty and overwhelmed by the friendly locals that I wanted to shout it to the world how awesome this place is. I wanted to share it all with my friends, relatives and travelers who seek out this kind of “old Baja” experience.
Not many tourists ventured out to this area because the road was terrible…I mean REALLY REALLY bad! But over the years the government has been making improvements to remote villages and helping the communities by paving the roads. We are now proud to have pavement all the way from Mex 1 into Asuncion, which had made a big difference in our lives and opened up our area to tourism. Most Baja travelers admit they had always wanted to visit this remote part of the coast and now with the new road, they are starting to discover this area, so rich in diversity and things to do.
Many do a circle trip entering the area from Vizcaino and coming to Bahia Asuncion, visit Bahia Tortugas then head out the graded coast road south that has spectacular beaches, surfing & fishing all along the way and passes through the fish camps of Pta.Prieta, San Hipolito, then through the villages of La Bocana and Abreojos and back out to Mex. 1.
It’s always so fun to watch people’s reaction when they come to town for the first time and take in all the breathtaking scenery. And lots of the townsfolk have made new friends with the visitors and new residents and are enjoying new cultural experiences.
Bahia Asuncion is a paradise for nature lovers, fishers, kayakers, hikers, bikers, surfers and the village offers lots of services to the visitor. There are several stores & restaurants, a hospital, mechanics and tire shops, welders, accommodations of every type from a small hotel, 2 B&B’s, vacation home rentals and campgrounds.
For such a small, sparsely populated area, there is lots going on and I look forward to keeping you all up to date on road conditions, events and life on the Midwest coast of Baja.
Bahía Asunción — a tiny Pacific town makes an ideal home base to see Vizcaíno desert wildlife, prehistoric rock murals, and gray whale birthing lagoons. Sportfishing legends start here.
